Meeting held : 21 September 2006
Chair of Meeting: The President, Comrade. Sandra Moait
Location of the meeting : Trades Hall Auditorium, 4 Goulburn St Sydney
UNIONS NSW MEETING MINUTES
MEETING HELD THURSDAY 21ST SEPTEMBER 2006
IN THE TRADES HALL AUDITORIUM
AT 4 GOULBURN STREET, SYDNEY, AT 6:04 PM.
The President Com. S. Moait occupied the Chair.
PRESENT: - J. Robertson [Secretary] M. Lennon [Assistant Secretary],
C. Christodoulou, M. Thistlethwaite, (Deputy Assistant Secretaries).
MINUTES: -
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the minutes as circulated be received".
Com. G. Derrick seconded.
CARRIED
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the minutes as circulated be adopted".
Com. F. Barnes seconded.
CARRIED
CREDENTIALS
From The NSW Teachers Federation appointing: - K. Smith in place of J. Irving.
From The Textile, Clothing & Footwear Union of Australia, NSW Branch appointing:- D. Karlsson in place of J. Owen.
From The Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union, Construction & General Division, New South Wales Branch appointing:- Brian Parker in place of A. Ferguson.
From The Australian Workers' Union, Greater New South Wales Branch appointing:- R. Collison, S. Bali, N. Allen, V. Falconer, S. Rumph, C. Bodnar, P. Farrow as delegates and G. Hillier, M. Wilmore, T. Mitchell and K. Brown as alternate delegates for the rest of 2006.
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the credentials be received and the delegates welcomed".
Com. B. Riordan seconded.
CARRIED
APOLOGIES
Apologies were received and accepted for: - A. Peters, M. Want, B. Kruse, J. Kiejda, B. Lipscombe, A. Gavrielatos, J. Diamond, J. Lemaire, J. Dixon, L. Takayama, P. MacGregor, C. Game, M. Thomson and S. Price.
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson moved: -
"That the apologies be received and accepted".
Com. G. Derrick seconded.
CARRIED
GUEST SPEAKER:
The President, Com. S. Moait, introduced Danny Fadoul and Daniel Mouhkey from Labor For Refugees.
Com. Fadoul outlined Labor's principles to win government. He said that the key issues were Industrial Relations, Health and Immigration. He said that on immigration Labor supports a compassionate and fair asylum seeker policy.
Com. Mouhkey outlined the campaign around the immigration issue and the strategy involved. He said that the campaign will be carried out in local newspapers, in community meetings and forums.
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson thanked Com. Fadoul and Com. Mouhkey for their address and said that what Labor for Refugees was doing was good Labor policy. He said that Labor for Refugees had been working in conjunction with Labor Opposition Spokesperson, Tony Burke on the issues and he encouraged all to play a role.
EXECUTIVE BUSINESS
CORRESPONDENCE
1. From The Rocks Chamber of Commerce: referring to a meeting regard the 75th anniversary of the completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge which had taken place at the Premier's Department Offices on Monday, 4th September 2006. The Chamber of Commerce said that it was their belief that the bridge belonged to The Rocks as it was their workforce which had built it and that the workers had paid the price with the loss of 16 lives along with the loss of a large number of The Rocks and Dawes Point homes
and businesses making way for the bridge's construction. They said that they believed that the celebration of the construction of the bridge should be held over the entire month of March - "Bridge Month in The Rocks". The Chamber suggested that The Rocks Chamber of Commerce, The Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority and respective Unions should join together in the erection of a suitable monument to the workers who lost their lives
during the construction and ongoing maintenance of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Chamber advised that at its Executive Committee meeting on 12 September it was agreed to donate $5,000 towards the erection of a suitable monument at Dawes Point. They said that the bridge shaped Australia as a people and a country capable of building first class engineering wonders of the modern world and that a permanent monument would be suitable recognition of those workers who had made the ultimate sacrifice in putting Australia on the international map.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and the proposal for the erection of a monument to workers who lost their lives working on the harbour bridge be referred to a meeting of building unions in the first instance."
Com. B. Parker seconded.
CARRIED
2. From the Hon. John Della Bosca, MLC, Minister for Industrial Relations:- advising Unions NSW of the release of the draft Industrial Relations Amendment Bill 2006. The Minister said that this Bill was the most recent legislative step in the NSW Government's response to the Federal Government's WorkChoices legislation. He said that the Bill had five objectives:
• To ensure that current provisions for the protection of injured workers remain viable and accessible;
• To protect employees from dismissal or victimisation for raising legitimate occupational health and safety issues at work;
• To ensure that the Industrial Relations Commission of NSW can provide its experience and expertise as a provider of dispute resolution functions under the federal Workplace Relations Act;
• To facilitate cooperation between the NSW IRC and its state counterparts for wage fixing and important matters; and
• To provide for the electronic publishing of industrial matters by the Industrial Registrar.
The Minister invited interested organisations to provide written submissions on the Bill to him by 5p.m. Tuesday 10th October 2006.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and that the release of the draft Industrial Relations Amendment Bill be welcomed and Unions NSW make a submission regarding the Bill after appropriate consultation with affiliates."
Com. M. Stuart seconded.
CARRIED
3. From the National Union of Workers, New South Wales Branch: - advising Unions NSW of the attempts made by the National Union of Workers to renegotiate another collective agreement between workers and management of F.I.P. Pty Ltd trading as Futuris Brakes International. The Union said that the company had been an unwilling and recalcitrant partner in any negotiations, to the extent that their members had sought industrial action to bring the company to the negotiating table. They said that the company had thwarted all reasonable attempts to begin a dialogue. The Union advised that in August this year Futuris management made application to the AIRC to terminate the F.I.P. Pty Ltd Certified Agreement 2003. The application was rejected, however despite this, the company had clearly stated to its employees that it would no longer accept a collective agreement and it wished to put all employees onto Australian Workplace Agreements (AWA's). The Union advised that this was unacceptable to their members at Futuris Brakes. They said that the company had embarked upon a relentless campaign of intimidation to move employees onto individual contracts and, that while the company relied upon a mantra of "performance" and being competitive in the "global market", the fact remained that Futuris Brakes wanted to lower wages and strip away conditions using the Federal Government's harsh Industrial Relations laws. The Union advised that in addition to the aggressive attitude of company, they they were aware that one of Futuris Brakes' major clients was the NSW Labor Government, and that this company supplies brakes for the rolling stock of Sydney's train network. The Union said that they were seeking the assistance of Unions NSW and its affiliates to bring the plight of their members at Futuris Brakes to the attention of the State Labor government and that it was unacceptable that a Labor administration would continue to trade with a company employing the harshest aspects of the new Industrial Relations laws upon workers.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW condemn the attempts by Futuris Brakes to refuse to negotiate a new collective agreement and put its workers onto AWA's.
Further, Unions NSW bring to the attention of the State Government the fact that Futuris Brakes, one of its suppliers, is seeking to take this action which is contrary to the state government's industrial relations policy."
Com. R. Collison seconded.
CARRIED
4. From the Finance Sector Union, New South Wales Branch:- advising Unions NSW that Westpac had today announced that it had deferred its announcement regarding the results of a review of 485 Australian jobs currently being done at Concord. The Union said that the workers at Concord had been moved by the public outcry and messages of support they had received from around the country in their continuing efforts to protect their jobs. They said that the intervention of Premier Morris Iemma when he said in Parliament that "Decisions by Westpac, or similar moves by another bank regarding the outsourcing of NSW Jobs, would be taken into consideration when the government signs banking contracts," had been a huge boost. The Union advised that despite all of this, Westpac still stubbornly refused to commit to protecting the jobs of FSU members at Concord and that their campaign would continue and they were seeking the support of Unions NSW through to the end. The Union also advised that St George Bank had announced that 60 jobs from its Collections Department at Kogarah would be off-shored to IBM in India. They said that there had been no consultation with the workers concerned and was another example of an Australian bank seeking the lowest possible wage rates as a short term grab for profits without satisfactorily dealing with the real concerns of privacy and consumer rights. The FSU advised that members at both Westpac and St George were stepping up their campaign to protect Australian Jobs, skills and opportunities in the finance sector. The Union thanked Unions NSW and its affiliates for their continued support and asked that they keep the pressure on Australian banks to do the right thing by their Australian workers and customers.
Com. J. Robertson moved the Executive Recommendation:-
"That the correspondence be received and Unions NSW condemn both Westpac and St George Banks for their efforts in seeking to send jobs offshore and welcomes the Premiers statement on the matter.
Further, Unions NSW and its affiliates reaffirm its support for the campaign."
Com. G. Derrick seconded and spoke to the resolution.
CARRIED
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. Jack Lawrence.
The Secretary, Com. J. Robertson advised affiliates that our Doorman, Com. Jack Lawrence had been admitted to the Prince of Wales Hospital and that we would update delegates on his progress.
2. WorkChoices Or No Choices
Organised by the Blue Mountains Union Council
Come For Lunch Stay For the Forum
Community Forum about WorkChoices
2.30p.m Saturday, 7th October 2006
Blackburn's Family Hotel, 15 Parke Street Katoomba
Speakers include:
Professor Joellen Riley Author of Book 'WorkChoices"
Mark McDiarmid Elizabeth Evatt Community Legal Centre
Justice Paul Munro former Snr. DP AIRC Sydney
Martin Cartwright 'Your Rights At Work Campaign',
Macquarie, Unions NSW
For further information contact Brett O'Brien 0413 866 520 or Margaret McDonough-Glenn 0401 385 509
COUNCIL ADJOURNED AT 6: 31PM
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